As I meet children of all ages nowadays, I can't ignore the impression that they appear to be a lot smarter at a much earlier age.  Of course, since I used myself as a reference when I was little, the reference could be less representative of the generation that I belong to. :-)

Then I met Cassie, the girl that just came to this world 8 months ago.  She totally blew me out of water.

Here's this little one that seems to be in her own zone, not bothered by the people, kids (mind you, the drama and the noise), or the dogs.  From a "looking down" kind of perspective as an adult (but who am I here to judge if she was already much smarter than I was), it seems that she's got the little engine churning in her head to process information that's only relevant to her.  I mean, how impressive is that when all you see from her face is calmness, at an age of 8 months...

... until her mom leaves the room.  A kid finally looks like a kid!  Agh...  A big relief, for me.  I still have hope... :-)